Arizona Governor Signs Law Protecting Airbnb

On Thursday, Arizona’s Republican governor, Doug Ducey signed a bill that prohibits cities and local municipalities from banning short-term rentals like Airbnb and HomeAway.

According to TechCrunch, the signing of SB 1350 into law is another step in the direction of Gov. Ducey’s aim of turning the state into a “sharing economy.” The original state Senate Bill 1350 was sponsored by Republican Arizona Senate Majority Whip Debbie Lesko.

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During his January State of the State address, Ducey said “Arizona should be to the Sharing Economy, what Texas is to Oil and what Silicon Valley used to be to the tech industry.”

Ducey stated his belief that the law will help inject profits from tourism into the local economy, TechCrunch notes.

Matt Kiessling, leader of short-term rental policy for the Travel Technology Association — which includes members from Airbnb — released a statement following SB 1350’s ratification

This bill truly is a win for everyone – it ensures that short-term rentals remain an option for travelers to Arizona and provides enormous economic benefits to local communities, while streamlining the collection of tax revenue…

When it comes to short-term rental regulation, legislatures around the country should look to Arizona’s new law as the gold standard for creating twenty-first century public policy … we applaud Arizona’s legislature and Governor Ducey for having the courage and foresight to develop statewide standards to ensure this important accommodations option remains available to Arizona visitors.

It is possible other states will follow Arizona’s lead. Airbnb has faced an uphill fight in California. Breitbart News reported this past November on the small victory Airbnb garnered when 55% of San Franciscans voted against Proposition F, a measure that sought to regulate short-term rentals in the bustling city. However, the $25.5 billion lodging startup’s battle is far from over as the measure, or ones similar to it, has the potential to reappear on future ballots.